The release of Trevor Murdoch several weeks ago surprised almost everyone. Michael Hayes requested he be brought to Smackdown and the idea was that he and MVP would start an odd couple tag team, which would have produced a lot of comedy segments. This would have led to a split and a big face turn for Murdoch. Hayes was not aware of the termination until the internal memo right after Murdoch was told about the release.

Many people internally are skeptical of Ashley Massaro's release. In the company people feel that if her daughter was that ill, that the company would have understood and given her time off to deal with it, similar to how they gave Monty Brown several months off to deal with family issues before finally releasing him. Massaro was sent home before WrestleMania, but was brought back due to the injury to Candice Michelle. The push Mickie James is currently receiving was designed for Massaro, as she was a favorite of Kevin Dunn's. Dunn came up with the Diva search and Massaro was a pet project so to speak. James got the spot because it would have set a bad example to give Massaro the top push after being sent home. Massaro again was removed from TV and sent home after news broke, linking her to an escort service.